'I knew I was a good instructor!' Dwayne praised himself. 'That so-called genius brat from the temple only became crippled because he was not good enough. This brat is the real deal!'
Dwayne felt very smug because of how much William had improved since he began his Martial Arts training. He was even very tempted to negotiate with Celine to have William be an official disciple to both of them.
'I'll ask her when we return to Lont,' Dwayne mused. 'I can't wait to take this brat to the Temple and let him faceoff against those so-called wannabee prodigies. My fists are itching just thinking about it.'
After William has completed his punching training, the monk then taught him his very own kicking techniques. The red-headed boy's determination to learn Martial Arts was pushing him to take each of Dwayne's lessons seriously.
Dwayne was in such a good mood that after William mastered his kicking techniques, he also taught him some sneaky palm strikes that were highly effective in close combat.
After finishing William's basic training, he taught him the Monkey Staff Martial Style as a freebie.
This technique looked like one was clowning around and only trying to provide a means of entertainment. However, when put to the test, it allowed William to do stunts with his wooden staff that could deal serious injury to his enemies when they least expected it.
----
"Hah!" With a shout, William used a side kick in order to break Dwayne's balance. However, the latter simply used his foot to neutralize the boy's attack.
Pressing both of his palms on the ground, William unleashed a flurry of kicks that forced Dwayne to back off.
When William completed his training regimen, Dwayne decided that the boy was now ready for actual combat. Using several artifacts to lower his rank and physical prowess, Dwayne sparred with William to develop his disciple's battle sense.
Right now, Dwayne's physical strength was in the initial stages of the Silver Rank. Ironically, William's combat prowess was already in the initial stages of the Gold Rank. Although William was a realm higher than Dwayne in their duel, the boy lacked Dwayne's battle experience to get the upper hand.
With a simple palm strike, Dwayne sent William flying a few meters from where he stood. He didn't do any follow up attacks and waited for the boy to recover his bearings.
"The Crane Style is a defensive style, not an offensive one," Dwayne reminded. "Although it can be used offensively, when dealing with a foe stronger than you, it would be best to stick to what the style is capable of."
"Yes, Third Master," William replied as he executed the Crane Stance. "I will remember your teachings."
Dwayne smiled and took the role of the aggressor. The two once again collided in a flurry of punches, kicks, and palm strikes. William got pushed back again and again, but he would always stand up each time he fell.
As days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, William's battle style had finally taken form. Dwayne felt proud because the young boy had surpassed his expectations. It made him realize that having a disciple wasn't such a bad idea.
The only problem was, there were not many children who were as capable as William.
'I hope Celine will agree to my request,' Dwayne sighed. 'Maybe I can bribe her with artifacts or treasures. I really want William to become my official disciple. It's not unheard of for a disciple to have two, or even several, masters.'
While Dwayne was deep in his thoughts, William was currently doing a lap around the lake using handstands. If Oliver were to see him, he would definitely tease the young boy and call him a monkey.
-----
A year passed as William studied under Dwayne's tutelage. The monk was very satisfied with his temporary disciple's performance. If not for the fact that the boy needed to do other kinds of training, he would have insisted that he stay with him in order to learn higher forms of Martial Arts.
Right now, William's battle prowess in unarmed combat was Gold Ranked. What Dwayne didn't know was that in that one-year of intensive training, William had reached the max level of his Monk Job Class.
William managed to achieve this feat through pain and suffering. Even during his rest period, he would continue to punch boulders. If there were no boulders to punch, he would punch the ground.
Sadly, he was not able to ascend the Monk Job Class to the next level because there was a requirement. William needed to visit a Monk Temple and offer a prayer to the Gods before this Job Class could be upgraded.
Dwayne didn't skimp on William's combat training and the two sparred almost every day after William had mastered his fighting style to a passable grade. Because of the constant one-sided beating he received from Dwayne, the red-headed boy's battle sense had improved by leaps and bounds.
Owen had helped him to increase his stamina.
Trent had taught him to enhance his perception.
And Dwayne taught him Martial Arts which combined everything that he had learned in a fighting style that suited him.
"Although you have only been my disciple for a short period of time, I'm very proud of you," Dwayne said with a smile as he patted William's shoulder. "Our lessons end here. It's time for you to go to the next part of your training."
"Thank you, Third Master," William replied and gave Dwayne a deep bow of gratitude. He, too, felt reluctant to stop his training with the Bald Monk because he could feel that he still had a lot to learn.
Even so, he knew that this was the curse of the Jack of All Trades. He could never focus on one class alone if he wished to increase his repertoire.
"Let's go back to Lont," Dwayne grinned. "Your next instructor said that you can have two days off before you start your archery training."
William returned his Master's grin as he nodded his head in acknowledgement. The boy looked in the direction of Lont with anticipation. He was looking forward to the next set of training that was waiting for him.